The present invention relates to vehicle accommodations for persons with disabilities. More particularly, this invention relates to a lift mechanism for lowering a portion of the floor inside a passenger van or other vehicle so that a person in a wheelchair can comfortably look out the windows of the van. Besides providing the person in the wheelchair with a more comfortable and enjoyable ride, the mechanism helps limit the movement of the wheelchair when the vehicle is involved in a collision.
It is difficult to transport a person in a wheelchair in conventional vehicles. Typically, a conventional passenger van is equipped with a ramp or lift mechanism extending outside the van for loading the person and their wheelchair into the van. For instance, in FR 2 689 478, Baboulin discloses a lowerable ramp at the rear of a van. Wheelchair users face another challenge once inside the van. The floor of the passenger compartment is generally fixed at a given distance from the ceiling and windows. Given these fixed distances, many wheelchairs (especially the larger ones used by paraplegics and quadriplegics) place the occupant at a level where it is difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes impossible to see out the windows of the van. This can result in the person in the wheelchair developing unpleasant symptoms such as neck strain, nausea, and headaches. Some of these symptoms are commonly associated with "motion sickness". Therefore, it would be desirable if the floor under the wheelchair could be lowered so the person in the wheelchair could see out the windows.
As shown by Ricci in U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,261, some customizers have modified vans to provide a fixed lower subfloor and a wheelchair ramp. Significant rerouting of various control rods and cables is required to accommodate the lowered floor. Furthermore, the lowered floor reduces the ground clearance of the vehicle because it extends below the existing lower floor panels. Because the floor is fixed, adjustments cannot be made for different sizes of wheelchairs and occupants. When none of the occupants of the van require a wheelchair, the lowered subfloor is unnecessary and may even be a nuisance or safety hazard. Therefore, it is usually desirable for the floor of the vehicle to be substantially flat, planar and on a single level.
Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is the provision of improved wheelchair accommodations for a vehicle.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a lift mechanism for lowering a wheelchair on a portion of the floor of a vehicle to enable the person in the wheelchair to see out the windows without decreasing the existing ground clearance.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a lift mechanism for lowering a wheelchair on a portion of the floor of a vehicle without substantially rerouting existing components extending under the floor.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a lift mechanism which includes jack screws mounted below the upper floor panel for lowering a portion of the floor panel.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a pair of laterally spaced adjustably lowerable floor sections adapted to support the laterally spaced wheels of a wheelchair.
A further object of this invention is the provision of a gravity lowerable intermediate floor section between the pair of laterally spaced floor sections.
A further object of this invention is the provision of one or more channels in the floor of the vehicle for limiting the displacement of the wheelchair wheels in the event of a crash.
These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings, as well as from the description and claims which follow.